A little stormy in Nebraska....

But, we just got some rain in Omaha while parts of Nebraska got nailed with hail and tornadoes. My sister was driving back to Lincoln from a meeting in western Nebraska when the storms started. She called me from the road and I kept track of where she was and where the storms were until she got back to Lincoln. I convinced her to get off the road for a while when it looked like it was going to be getting dicey. Thank God that she listened and drove into a little town and treated herself to some Dairy Queen treats. While she was munching, the storm passed where she would have been had she stayed on the road. When she got back on the road she saw utter devastation including semi-trucks overturned and buildings completely flattened. I just thank God that He got her home safe and sound and that there were no serious injuries in the areas that were hit my the storms.







Speaking of "utter devastation," here are my "Mud Monsters!"

Asa
(Our friend from Columbia said, "Asa, you look worse than a dog that lives on a street!)



Haver



Thanks for reading.

Annette

A nice weekend....

My father-in-law was a World War II vet who was extremely dedicated to visiting the graves of all of his relatives over the Memorial Day Weekend. He would buy pots, soil and flowers and make up a nice display for every relative buried in the Nebraska and Iowa area. He also visited some of his friends who had passed away. We wanted to respect Bud's wishes and decided after he passed away last year, that we would take over his Memorial Day duties.

So, on Saturday we drove to Fremont Nebraska and picked up Rod's Aunt Maxine. Her husband Pete passed away last spring, so this would be her 2nd visit to her beloved husband's resting place. The three of us then drove to Sutton, Nebraska where we visited Maxine's husband (Rod's uncle), and Rod's grandma and grandpa from his mom's side of the family. We then drove to Fairbury, NE where we visited Rod's grandma, (his dad's mom) and an aunt. From Fairbury we drove to Lincoln, Nebraska where we visited the grave site of Rod's Mom and Dad. With all of those visits taken care of, we drove back to Fremont and dropped Aunt Maxine off and we headed back to Omaha. In all, we drove about 387 miles and used over $100.00 in gas! Now, granted, we didn't drive a fuel-efficient vehicle...we took Rod's Hummer! But, with the crazy wind we had in Nebraska and all of the travelers on the road, it was the safest (although not cheapest) choice!!

On Monday, I drove to Lincoln and my sister and I visited our parent's and grandparent's sites in the Catholic cemetery. We then drove out to Raymond, Nebraska where our Dad's parents and our Dad's best friend are buried.

Today I took a short drive to Council Bluffs, Iowa (15 miles or so) and took some flowers to an aunt and uncle on Rod's Dad's side of the family. They had no children and Bud was always very loving and loyal to them.

Memorial Day is more than just a day off and a chance to get together and have a cookout. It is truly a day that we should take some time to remember those who have gone before us, those who are waiting for us when it is our time to leave this life. I honestly don't feel that the people whose graves we visited were actually there, in the cemetery. I believe that they are in heaven with our Lord, enjoying "life" in a way that we won't understand until we meet them again.


Thanks for reading.
Annette

Just stopping by to say "hello!"

Not much happening around here. I went to school yesterday and helped with reading tests. I also went this morning. I can't believe how incredibly smart these kids are! Every child I tested was reading significantly above grade level. I guess it's a good thing I'm not teaching right now. I was always intimidated by the "smart ones!"
I'll go back tomorrow and help again if I'm feeling ok. These poor teachers are up to their eyeballs with things to do and they only have a few days left in the school year.

Last night was a blast!! Kathleen came up from Lincoln and we went to see, "Menopause, The Musical!" This was, by far, the funniest show I have ever seen!





http://www.menopausethemusical.com

It is a story told about 4 women going through "the change." They tell the story through revamped songs from the 60's and 70's. For instance, the song "My Guys" is turned into "My Thighs." If you are in Omaha, I would highly recommend that you go to see it! It will be here for 4 more weeks!

Subject change:
You might remember seeing this picture before. It shows the little doll that I "won" from the claw machine at Village Inn.



Well, it took a long time until they dug "the guy" out of their toy box. All I can say is that I'm really glad that we had a "before" picture!








Thanks for reading!
Annette

Confession...

I am here to fess up to being an American Idol junky!! I LOVE this show! I have been watching every week and have enjoyed the wins and losses. I've enjoyed getting to see a bunch of "kids" get an opportunity of a lifetime and, for many, to see a life-long dream come true. The final was tonight. The two finalists are David Cook and David Archuleta (who is only 17 years old!) I don't know who is going to win, and I don't really care. Either one of the David's will be fabulous! Last week I voted for the first time. I was just really moved by David Cook's skills and, especially his story. He is a 25 year old bartender who came to Omaha to support his brother who wanted to try out for the show. While his brother was being interviewed before he tried out, he said that he AND his brother were there to try out. So, David ended up trying out "just because." His brother didn't make it, but David did. David has another brother named Adam. He's older with a wife, two little kids and terminal brain cancer. If you've ever watched the show, you might have noticed "AC" on his guitar. That is in honor of his brother.
Anyway, I just thought I would confess.

Now I need to go and vote.

Thanks for reading.
Annette

The "Stupid Woman of the Year" award goes to...

yes, ME!


The weather yesterday was absolutely beautiful!! We woke up earlier than normal, thanks to the "barker brothers" and decided to go to breakfast before church. After church I was feeling the effects of being an "early riser" and decided to take a quick nap. I felt fabulous afterwards and decided to go run a couple of errands. Well, after errand #1 I was exhausted. So, I had to trash my plan and go back home and lay down again. After another nice rest I felt really, really good! I figured that I was finally caught up on my sleep and I really wanted to get back outside to enjoy the incredible weather. So, this is where the stupid award comes in. I went outside and walked around the property with the dogs, without my O2. I checked my O2 levels several times (using this little finger tester) and they were fine, so I kept going. I only spent about 15 minutes out in the yard, checking out the trees and laughing at the dogs. But, on the way back in I started getting very short of breath and my chest started hurting. Things continued to escalate to the point where I ended up taking two tylenol #3 and 2 Darvon. I fell asleep for hours! I ended up missing my friend's little girl's dance recital! I missed the rest of the nice weather! I woke up just long enough to switch out my Flolan and take some more Darvon. Today I'm really groggy and am having a little bit of chest pain, but nothing much.

You know, I should know better. I know that even when my O2 levels are fine, without my O2, I feel like crap. I can get by without using it for a few minutes and I have even left it off while when I've walked down the driveway to get the mail. But, to keep it off while being physically active is just asking for trouble. Well, I asked for it and I got it. I talked to my doctor about what happened. I also told him how I'm feeling today. He said that I just need to rest as much as possible today and to keep the O2 on. (surprise, surprise, surprise!) He said that I didn't hurt anything, that I just managed to overdo it... big time.

So, that's my excitement.

Feel free to yell all you want.

Thanks for reading.

Annette



Free Counter

Prison Break!!

So, sorry again about being absent for a couple of days. I've just been hitting a little bit of a "PH speed bump." I've been really tired and having some minor chest pain. It's just the typical "PH crap." But, I'm getting lots and lots of rest and the chest pain is basically gone. So, basically it's all good.

What's NOT good though, is what happened on Wednesday night! It's about 9:30 p.m. and I'm mixing my Flolan. Rod is down in the poolhouse working on the pool pump. I hadn't seen the pups for a bit and assumed they were with him....until the phone rang. It was our neighbor. For those of you who don't know, we live on an acreage so our nearest neighbor is the equivalent of about 2-3 blocks away. Anyway, they called to tell us that Asa and Haver are over at their house! Evidently, "the boys" broke through the invisible fence and decided to go visit the neighbor's dog! Rod went over to get them and discovered that the kids accidentally let the dogs out again! We spent the next hour looking for them! I'm walking all over the property yelling for them (without my O2, which probably explains why I haven't felt so good the last couple of days), Rod drove around all over the property and then even got in the car and drove around the local neighborhoods! Well, about an hour into this, the phone rings and it's my neighbor again. The puppies have been found! Evidently the wife didn't notice Asa and Haver in their garage and she shut the garage door! ARG!!!

In the morning, Rod and I assumed (guessed incorrectly) that they had learned their lesson. Rod let them out when he left for work and I took a shower. As soon as I got out of the shower the phone starts to ring. Yes, you guessed it! They were back at the neighbor's again!! I walked over to get them and they came running across the field to me! They didn't even hesitate as they crossed the invisible fence line! ARG!! So, I called the Invisible Fence Company and told them that I would be bringing two collars in to have the corrections set to SINGE!! Well it ended up that Asa lost the battery from his collar and Haver's battery was dead. So, now we have two new batteries and we're back in business!

I missed going to volunteer at school Thursday morning because of the visit to the Invisible Fence place, but I was able to go in the afternoon. It was so wonderful setting their with those kids testing their reading skills. It almost felt like I was their officially.

Friday night we went to my cousin's daughter's graduation party here in Omaha and then we drove down to Lincoln to have dinner with our good friend, Jim.

And, so, here is today, Saturday. I'm going to Lincoln again for another graduation party and hopefully to go see my sister.

I think that's about it for now. I better get my butt in gear and get going.

Thanks for reading.

Annette

I've been a bit busy....

I finally finished the prayer blanket for this little boy who was born after living only 5 months in his momma's belly. I'm really not very good at this crocheting stuff, but I'm trying. So, as you're doing your nightly prayers, please include little Zane in your prayers.





I was lucky enough to have brunch with Rod, Nick and Kara on Sunday for Mother's Day. Then, after brunch I SCORED on the claw machine at Village Inn! I was so excited to give my "4-legged sons" a new toy!




On Monday night, I went to my P.E.O. meeting and was thrilled to have a circle of these amazing friends hold onto Zane's blanket and pray with me for his healing. I was able to meet up with my sister for dinner last night and gave her the blanket so she can hand it off to Zane's grandpa. Kathleen told me that the timing was perfect because it looks like little Zane may have to have heart surgery soon. They were hoping they could hold off on this surgery until he was at least a year old. So, as I said in the first paragraph (that I actually starting writing a couple of days ago), if any of you are the "praying kind" please pray for little Zane.

I was hoping that when I got home last night I would get back on this goofy computer and get back to blogging. But, I've really been feeling kind of crappy for a couple of days. As my phriends know, anytime one of us begin to feel yucky, we assume it's the PH. So, in typical fashion, I've been worrying and trying to rest as much as possible. But, just as Rod assumed (he is a doctor, I guess I should be listening to him) it was just a bug and I feel quite a bit better today. Well, at least I was feeling quite a bit better until just now...Asa just jumped up on the couch so he could sit next to me. Normally, that's not a bad thing. But, it's pretty obvious to my nose and my eyes, that he's been touring the horse pasture... if you get my drift.......
I think we're going to go outside for awhile.

Thanks for reading!
Annette

This and that and that and this....

If you live anywhere close to Nebraska, you know that there is one thing that all (ok, at least most) Nebraskans love....Nebraska football! And, again, if you are in close proximity to Nebraska, you know that we've had a tough couple of years with our FORMER athletic director and FORMER head coach. But, you should also know that we now have a new A.D. and new coach and we are back on track! Well, last night, I got to meet and great and shake the hand of no other than our new head coach, Bo Pelini and his lovely, lovely wife, Mary Pat! The med center had a reception for some of the docs and such last night to try to get a relationship going between the UNL athletic department and the med center to help with recruits who might be interested in going to med school. Anyway, it was really nice and I was really nervous and stumbled over my words numerous times! But, I did keep my wits about me enough to hit him up for an autographed football for our auction at the 3rd Annual Phenomenal Hope for a Cure this November!!



It was cloudy and just kind of BLAH today. I went to bible study this morning and then came home, crocheted, watched "All My Children" and started to feel a little stir crazy. So, I decided to treat myself to some popcorn and a movie. I went to see "Baby Momma." I was suppose to hold off and see it sometime with my sister, but there really wasn't anything else to see and I figured it would be so funny that I would go to it again, anyway. Boy, was I wrong! It was horrible!! The only funny parts were the ones in the previews. So, 8 puppy paws down, way down.




Speaking of puppies.... the dogs got their mitts on an old football. They did their "puppy thing" to it.

Asa


Haver



Asa and Haver



The boys and their prize



Thanks for reading! :)
Annette

Sorry, I've been MIA....

But, I've just been busy and having fun! Chris, my youngest, flew home Saturday morning to shoot the wedding of a friend's sister Saturday night. After church on Sunday we had brunch with Chris, Nick and Nick's friend, Kara. Then, we had to take Chris back to the airport. It was a very, very short, but sweet visit.

Friday night Rod and I went to the movie "88 Minutes." Fabulous, fabulous show! 4 puppy paws up!!



Saturday we picked Chris up from the airport, brought him home and visited with him for a couple of hours before he headed off to the wedding. Rod and I went to a 40th anniversary party. We spent the evening watching TIVO's shows and being bums.


Sunday was church, brunch, aiport and then an afternoon of reading, crocheting and playing with the pups.

So, as you can see, nothing very exciting has been going on. But, I've just been having a bit too much fun to take the time to blog and send out emails. Sorry.

Thanks for reading.
Annette